The Rescue
by TennisQueen
Summary: A road trip to save Joe from his internship in a beach side town turns into an unforgettable trip. The beach, late nights, cheap drinks and bets. Whats the worst that could happen?
1. Chapter 1

A:N/ Hey sooo, here's chapter one of my new story! This takes place about 6 years after season 2, so everyone is roughly 21ish. Except for T.K and Kari, 19ish. This is a Taiora by the way. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

Tai let out a sigh of relief as he glanced over to the clock that hung on the wall of the staff room. He ripped off the goofy apron the only went up to his waist, they had to wear them, it was useful to hold the notepad he used to write down orders and hold his tips but he hated the thing. He tossed it into his employee locker, slung his messenger style bag over his shoulder and made his way through the café he worked in and out into the busy streets of downtown Odaiba. The warm sun kissed his already tan skin as the 21 year boy waited for a break in the seemingly never ending stream of traffic. He was only trying to get 20 feet, to the Karissa Design Studio on the other side of the street, where Sora worked, he got off at the same time as her on Fridays; 1:00. There was a brief gap in the cars, he didn't waste his chance, he dashed across the road and into the building. Usually, Sora is waiting for him in the lobby, but he saw no sign of her, so he made his way into the elevator and up to the 15th floor. The building was huge, for a design studio, 16 stories high, the higher you were in the company, the higher the floor you were on, so Sora was doing pretty well. She had been working there for almost two years and had meteoric rise to the top after one of her sketches somehow wound up in the summer collection design meeting, it took the studio almost a week to track down the owner of the design. When they found out it belonged to an intern, the quickly hired her and within six months, she had her own summer and winter line. The elevator let off a soft beep as it reached his best friend's floor, he walked down the long modern decorated hall and into 'Miss. Takanouchi''s office. As he pushed open the door he saw Mimi draped in a huge piece of silky light yellow fabric.

"Hey Tai" Mimi exclaimed as the door opened, Sora's head popped out from behind her as she spoke.

"Hey" Tai smiled as he shut the door behind him, since he guessed that it was shut for a reason. Sora glanced up to the clock on her large desk.

"Sorry, we must have lost track of time" She smiled back to him

"No problem, gives me time to change out of this stupid shirt" He said as he started to unbutton the long sleeved, dark brown button up shirt

"Take it off, Tai!" Mimi playfully teased

"Sorry to disappoint" Tai said as he revealed his undershirt and threw on a light green v neck t-shirt

"That's no fun" Mimi pouted as she pushed him back

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed from behind her "Keep still or you're going to get a pin in your back" Sora was on her knees, putting pins here, loosening fabric there as she made the once heap of fabric mold to Mimi's figure.

"Sorry" Mimi apologized as she returned to her previous pose

"Don't you guys have a studio for this sort of thing?" Tai asked as he noticed how strange it was that they were doing this in her office

"Yea, but this is a secret" Sora said in a muffled voice as she stood up with three pins in her mouth. She stabbed them into the pin cushion on her desk and stood back to admire her work "Done" Mimi was now standing in a dress that came up to her knees with a fold of fabric draping down on the left side, the drape reminded Tai of a roman column.

"Thank god" Mimi said as she slipped out of the fabric. She was Sora's model for her major lines and since they had done design fittings hundreds of times before, she could easily take the fabric off just as Sora would. To Tai's surprise Mimi only had on her bra and underwear as she stepped out of the dress, Tai couldn't help but stare "Sorry to disappoint" Mimi smirked as she slipped into a pair of shorts, a long, loose grey tank top and several bracelets and a long skinny silver necklace. Sora just laughed as she helped Mimi fold the fabric and neatly hang it in the armour behind her

"Don't drool on the hardwood, Tai" Sora teased

"So where are we meeting everyone?" Mimi asked as she hauled her purse over her shoulder.

"This place just down the street actually" Sora said as she straightened out her navy blue skirt, dotted with small peach coloured flowers "Anyone know when, exactly?" She said with a light laugh

"Like now" Tai laughed back as he opened the door, they were just about to leave when Mimi's cell phone rang, she quickly pulled it out, slid her finger across the screen and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone "O hi" Her voice grew brighter as she recognized the voice on the other end "Were leaving now…..Oh your poor thing" She teased "I bet you do" Mimi sounded probably a lot more flirty then she meant to "Well im on my way…Bye Izzy" She smiled as she slid her finger across the screen again then propped her chin up on her phone as she sat in Sora's chair, she was clearly distracted. Tai and Sora exchanged a look as she mentioned Izzy's name.

"Izzy, uh?" Tai asked as he snapped Mimi out of her daze

"Yes, Izzy" Mimi replied in a playful voice "Their waiting for us" She smiled as she ignored the looks coming from Tai and Sora and made her way out the door and into the hall.

"When did she say they would be here?" Kari asked as she freed her hand from T.K's and checked the time on her phone.

"She said their on their way" Izzy replied as he started tapping on the metal table that they sat at on the outside patio of the café.

"At least she's almost on time" T.K laughed and reclaimed Kari's hand.

"Yea, that girl's got fashionably late down to an art" Matt chipped in as he took a sip of his drink

"So, Matt, how's producing going?" Kari asked

"Good" He smiled "Just landed this huge gig with a top secret client" He added tauntingly, this of course was followed by Kari and T.K begging for him to tell them who it was, but Matt kept his mouth shut. He loved holding things over people's head, especially his brother's.

"Kari, how is your schooling going?"Izzy asked, since he's had enough of listening to the couple beg, plea, bargain and even bribe Matt into telling them who it was.

"Great, next month I start my student teaching" She grinned proudly, Kari was almost at the halfway point of getting her teaching degree, she hadn't decide which grade yet, but she's been leaning towards kindergarten. She was about to ask Izzy how his internship with Professor Takanouchi was going when his face lit up

"There they are" He announced in a cheery tone as he pointed out Mimi, Sora and Tai making their way down the street and towards them. No one seemed to noticed his changed deminer except for Kari, so she thought nothing of it.

"Hey guys, sorry were late" Mimi smiled as she sat down next to Kari

"Yea, I had to mop up a coupe puddles" Sora said as she lightly elbowed Tai, obviously referring to his gawking over Mimi in her bra and underwear.

"Well maybe if Mimi was had been dressed in appropriate office wear then that wouldn't have happened" He tried to speak in a somewhat neutral tone but there was a slow spreading grin on his face.

"Hey, I was" Mimi protested

"How is a bra and underwear office appropriate?" He asked, the three burst out laughing, knowing that they will have to explain the story. Matt swallowed hard he heard Tai speak

"Wait, you were in what?" He asked Mimi, who in return explained the story and she and Sora eventually won the debate that she was dressed properly, which wasn't hard considering all but three of the people at the table were guys. The seven of them basked in the warm summer afternoon, sharing old stories and planning future events. They were all there except for Joe, who was in a small village on the coast, finishing the last couple of weeks of his own internship with his father. It would still take him another year and a half of schooling, but he was almost a doctor.

"We should do something, guys" Kari said in a concerned voice

"About what?" Tai asked he finished making yet another bet with Sora. The two had been betting on almost everything for last week, everything from who can go the longest without sleep to guessing how late Mimi will be to who's going to get off work first. This bet in particular, was to see which one of them could guess how many more glances Izzy and Mimi will exchange during lunch.

"Joe" She replied

"What do you mean?" T.K asked

"It's not fair that he has be to trapped doing medical work all summer in a distant village" They were all wearing a curious look as Izzy spoke

"What are you suggesting Kari?" A sly smile grew on her face as the thought formed in her mind

"Let's go get him" The smile was in full swing as she continued "Spend a week or two in the village he is catering to" There was a silence as everyone thought about this, they did miss his dorky comments and even his complaining.

"Il do it" Tai declared, nothing new, he is always the first to try something or do something crazy "Sora?" He asked as he extended his hand, clearly wanting to make a bet

"Me too" She said as she met Tai's eye-line and firmly shook his hand "Mimi?"

"Two weeks on the beach?" She asked excitedly "Count me in!" Eventually, everyone agreed to go, even Izzy. Which they would have thought to be a hard task, but apparently not for Mimi, all it took was a flirty please and a wink and he was even volunteering to drive. They all knew that Joe was probably having a good time with his internship but two weeks at the beach should be fun.

"Then it's settled" Kari smiled "Thursday morning, we'll all meet up at Tai's and go"

A/N: So what'd you think? As you can tell there's going to be subplots, so its not just going to be about Tai and Sora. Let me know what you think! Please review, they really help me write a better story! Next chapter should be up within the week. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Sooo this is really late, i inexplicably hit a rather early writer's block. But your bound to get at least one, so i've got mine out of the way early :P My spell check broke, sorry about the spelling errors, juts bare with me on this one please. Thanks susiipie, digimonfan4ever101, arandomguy227 and crestoflight3 for the reviews :) Here is chapter 2, enjoy

Dissclaimer: I own as much digimon as Matt owns Sora's heart. Zing ;) *I dont own it*

"C'mon, Matt!" Tai yelled as he gripped the worn leather of his steering wheel and helplessly watched as Sora's car roared down the winding, rarely used country road that lay spread out before him. They were half way through the seven hour drive to Jouchiro, the village where Joe was completing his internship when Tai finally caved into Matt's complaining and begging and pulled over so he could go to the washroom.

"It is not a race, Tai" Izzy commented from the back seat

"Yes it is" Tai said bluntly as he honked the horn once more

"What?" T.K asked from beside Izzy "Since when?"

""Since Sora and i bet on it" Tai repleid with the same tone, he paid no attention to the laughter coming from the back seat as he leaned towards the open window "You're killing me, man!" He yelled as Matt casually continued to take care of buiseness. Tai slumpped down in his seat, he could barely see Sora's car, just a small dark blue spec giving off the reflectoin of the blazing summer sun

"Yea, yea, yea, i'm coming" Matt replied and opened the car door, he barely had time to shut it behind him before Tai slammed his foot down on the defensless gas pedal that lay in waiting under his foot.

"Slow down, Sora" Mimi complained from the seat beside her "Whats the big hurry?" She asked as her voice took on an edge of curiosity as she watched her, she looked like she was trying to outrun the police. Checking her rear-view mirror every five seconds, her side mirrors, what seemed like every three and the way it looked like she just waiting for someone to pop out of the dash board

"Nothing" Sora replied and tried to concele her obviously anxious demenour "I just want to get there in good time, thats all" Her iron grip on the wheel loosened as her jaw relaxed

"Uh huh, well, i know this might be alot to ask, but i would like to get there alive, if thats alright with you" Mimi smilled

"Well what ti-" Kari stopped herself from the back seat as an idea rustled her thoughts "It's Tai, isnt it!" She exclaimed "You two are racing arent you!"

"What?" Sora said, trying to act suprised. She knew it was useless, Kari knew her almost as well as Mimi did and since Sora picked up at least half of her lying techniques from Tai, Kari could almost always tell when was lying. The two had grown quit close, which came to no suprise to anyone since Sora was always over at Tai's house "I told you, i just want to get there before sunset, ive heard-" She stopped herself, neither one of them where buying it and she knew it "Alright, fine, but he's the one who said that i wouldnt be able to beat him"

"Leave it to the two of you to turn a road trip into a death race" Mimi teased, just after she spoke, Sora checked her mirrors again and let out a squeak of suprise and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. The car jerked forwards as she turned her head to see what had conjured the odd sounding yelp from her friend, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the balring sun beating down on the cracked black pavement, then she saw it. A tiny, dark grey matallic spec glaring in the sun as it grew in size. Her calm and dissaproving demenour went out the window when she too squeeled with exitment and nerves "Go! Go! Go!" She yelled, clutching the dashboard. Sora had about a ten mile lead on Tai, so according to the rules of the bet, if she could keep this pace up, he would have to wait until she got ten miles from the check point befor he could try and catch up after they fill up on gas. The tiny, microscopic gas station sat tauntingly close, Sora's grip on the steering wheel tightened as she gingerly pushed down on the metal plate beneath her foot and shifted into fifth gear, her engine roared as they flew down the coast bound road. She glanced over to the GPS, willing for it tell her they were actually gaining on the what seemed like retreating gas station, she was about give it a smack for good measure then it spoke

"In five hundred meters, turn right" The soft robotic female voice filled the air as Sora downshifted and her car effortlessly rolled into the gas station. She couldnt help but give off a fist pump, an old habit from tennis, when she saw that she managed to keep her lead on Tai.

"Way to go, girl!" Mimi exlaimed as she stood out of the car, extending her arm out over the roof of the car, waiting for a high five. The loud slap that solidified thier victory was interupted by Tai's car pulling up to the gas pump beside them. Mimi gave Sora a wink as her knees cracked in retaliation from being without movement for three and a half hours.

"So close, Kamiya" Sora smiled as Tai stood up from his car, the pump in her hand giving off the strong smell of gasolin as it fed a steady stream of the stuff into her nearly empty gas tank

"Yea alright, Takanouchi" He smiled as he slid the pump into his own car "Don't get a big head, you wont fit in the car"

"At least i can drive a car" Sora taunted, which conjured a laugh from Matt, as he streched his arms out in front of him and slammed the door shut behind him. T.K ran off after Kari after she snatched his hat and Izzy started a converstaion with Matt once he reluctanly accepted the fact that there was no wireless network for him to connect too.

"You just wait, Sor, i've got a few tricks" The mischivious grin on his face gave Sora a cause for concern, she knew what that look meant, she was about to counter back when Mimi called for her, needing her help to get the drinks from the worn out conviniece store attached to the gas station. The store looked like it might have once been blue but now it was a worn out dull colour, it matched the rest of the station, with the worn out signs, cracked pavement, and the overall feeling that you were going to get robbed. It hardly matched the country scene in which it sat. The rolling hills, clusters of leafy green trees that gently swayed in the soft summer breez, the rolling hills decorated in sweet smelling flowers and the light blue sky dotted with soft white clouds.

Tai slipped the gas pump back into the worn out metal slot that struggled to let the hot summer sun give off a reflextion through its layers of grim and scratches. He glanced over to the store be sure Sora was well in the dim looking building before he dashed over towards her car and creeped into the driver seat. He snatched the keys off the dashboard, turn on car battarey, but not the engine, ejected the current CD, pulled out the waiting CD labled 'It's on' from his pocket and slipped it into the player. As he turned off the car and tossed the keys back on the dashboard, he reached into his pocket and fished out a small tube of super glue. Swiflty and quietly, he drew a circle around the eject and power button then drew a circle around the volume dial after he cranked it to full blast, of coarse. Once he checked to be sure the buttons were now usless, a small hitch in his plan came into light. The now empty tube of glue clung to his hand as he tried to peel it off, his admirable attempts of whacking it off or twisting it were interupted by the glare of the CD that once lay inside the player, on the seat beside him. The glove box dropped open at his touch, heavy with CD's and an impressive collection of random pappers and sketch snippets. He tore through the what Sora would call 'organized mess' trying to find the case. _And she thinks i'm messy, _he thought as he dug around when a carefully folded worn piece of papper caught his eye, he gave a quick look over to the convinience store to be sure Sora was still inside, then he slowly unfoalded it. The thick creases in the what he could now tell was a picture of something, matched the worn colours and faded edges. A smile crossed Tai's lips as he traced over a seventeen year old Sora's face, she sat at thier table at their high school prom as a newly turned eighteen year old Tai slung himself over her shoulder. The memory of that one moment crashed into his mind, he was about to loose himself in the thought when the sound of a car door thudding shut snapped him back into reality. He carefully folded the picture and tucked it back into its resting place, threw the CD into the first case he got his hands on and walked towards his car unoticed.

"None" Izzy replied as he once again, this time secretly crossing his fingers, clicked on the refresh button on his laptop. A sigh escaped his throat as the result he knew he would get happened "Not a single wireless network for me to connect too"

"Oh, no" Matt said sarcasticaly "How will you live?"

"This is not funny, now how am i suppose to keep up to date with Proffessor Takanouchie's latest developments in our research?" He said, his voice laced with anger, annoyance and a hint of worry

"Relax man, some time away from that thing will do you some good" Matt reasured him with a pat on the back as Izzy packed up the laptop "And im sure they'll have something you can dip your interted starved computer into at the hotel"

"Hopefully" He replied, still not entierly convinced "I wonder if i could hack into..." The red haired boy trailed off as Mimi and Sora came out of the dingy store, arms loaded with a mountain of tipping water bottles and snacks

"Well dont just stand there and look good, boys" Mimi called to them as her moutain began to tip to the left, swaying in the wind "Help a girl out!" Without a second thought, Izzy rushed to Mimi's side, saving her moutain from crashing onto the weed infested pavement that lay beneath their feet.

"Let me give you hand" Kari said to an obviously agitated Sora

"Thanks, Kari" She replied as the girl grabbed a bottle from her pile

"Heads up Tai!" Kari said as she tossed a bottle from Sora's arms at her brother, who wore a strange expression. A smile that looked like he was trying to conceal was on his face, it looked as if there was the happiest thought in the world just tearing away at the back of his mind. The warning registered just in time, his hand barely managed to raise in front of his chest and grasp the bottle of ice cold water "Hey Sora" Kari asked as she took note of Izzy helping Mimi unload her bottles and bags into the boy's car, they looked all too happy to be unloading chips and water into a hot car on and even hotter afternoon "Whats going on with those two?"

"I'm not sure" Sora replied as she spotted the pair, laughing as a bottle slipped from Izzy's hands, slamming down on an unsuspecting bag of chips "But I'l figure it out" She flashed Kari a wink and let the bottles spill out from her arms and into the empty seat in the back of her car "You guys ready to go?" She asked to no one in peticular

"Yea, lets get this drive over and done with" T.K said as he gave his aching body one last stretch.

"Now, Yamatto" Tai said in an adult voice as he sat down in the seat beside him "Did you remember to go to the bathroom?"

"Yes, dad" Matt repleied with a laugh as his seat belt clicked. Sora's car peeled out of the gas station and started down the open road in front of him, the car grew smaller and smaller, melding into the horrizion of the land. Then it stopped.

"That's ten miles, Tai" Izzy informed him from the back seat, confused as to why he hadnt started to drive "Uhhh Tai?"

"Right" Tai nodded and gave his head a shake to wipe his thoughts clean from his mind

"I wonder why they stopped" Matt though aloud. A smile spread across Tai's face as they approached the car and the faint sound of music escaped the car's window as they grew closser. As they drew closser, the music grew louder, and louder "What's going on?" He turned and asked Tai, and from the grin on his face, he knew Tai had something to do with it. The sounds seaped out from the parked car as Sora stood with her arms crossed, her hands turned to fists.

"What did you do?" Sora shouted as Tai stopped beside her, her voice barely audiable over the blaring music that ripped the air in two. Tai replied with a gesture to his ear and a shake of his head "Its not funny!" She screamed at him, her ears thuding from the sounds tearing thier way around her. Tai gave a shake of his head and another vague gesture towards his ear before he drove off, holding back his laughter "Uuuuuuugggghhhh!" She shouted, slamming her foot down on the thousands of tiny rocks beneath her feet

"Sora?" Mimi asked as she poked her head around the other end of the car "Wha-" She stopped as she walked right passed her and started tinkering with a panel beneath the stero controls, she could see her lips moving and her brows pressed in frustration but she could not hear her over the deffaning noise. Sora's finger's fumbled with the wires that lay beneath the panel that now sits on the floor of the car, Mimi could hear her shout over the music, which was impressive considering how loud it was

"I'm going to kill him!" She yelled just before she gave a wire one last tug and the music stopped, thier ears rang from the slience. Mimi and Kari exchanged a look before they rushed into the car, somehow knowing that Sora was not going to wait for them to get in before she took off after Tai. A faint smile creeped along Sora's face as she sped down the road, a little concerning for the girls in the car since a moment ago she looked ready to kill someone. Mimi was about to question her then her purse began to buzz, she dug around her bag until she pulled out her cell phone

*1 new message* *Izzy* lite up her screen *Are you allright? That music rang my ears from Tai's car.* The light brown haired girl smiled as she replied

*Yea, were fine :) You might want to tell Tai that Sora is out for blood. Give him time to hide*

Sora seemed rather oblivious to the fact that her own phone had been vibrating in the cupholder beside her, she was far too focused on catching up to the boy's car. From the look on her face, it was hard to tell wether she wanted to ram Tai's car into the ditch, congratulate him on a well executed prank (as they often do) or simply win the race.

*Can you get Sora to pick up her phone? Tai keeps texting her and it is rather uneasing when the driver is going 110 mph and is more focused on his phone than the road :S*

*Why's he texting her?*

*He is trying to appologize. He still thinks it was funny, and i cant tell if he is worried about her or if he is simply trying to lessen her inevitable payback lol*

*Yea i'll tell her. Are we still on for drinks tonight? :)* Mimi typed then looked over to Sora "Hey Sora, you going to check your messages?"

Sora reached down and grabbed her phone then passed it too Mimi "Can you read them?"

Mimi nodded and opened the first messgae "Hey Sor, sorry if that was a little much. I was only trying to slow you down"

"Are they all like that?" Sora asked, Mimi replied with a yes then placed Sora's phone in her waiting open palm. Mimi, staisfied with her self, thinking Sora would forgive Tai, happily continued texting Izzy. Sora skimmed through the 4 messages, all giving some sort of appolgie or concern, the small smile on her face grew into a smirk as she replied. She knew Tai Kamiya better than anyone, so she knew that while Tai was probably a little concerned, he was only trying to dull the payback he knew was coming. The aubrun haired girl smirked as she replied

Tai quickly snatched his phone up from his lap as it buzzed, anxiously waiting for her response

*1 new message* *Sora*

"Crap" Tai said lightly under a laugh as he read it

*Nice try Kamiya :P*

*Can't blame a guy for trying ;)* He rpelied

"Okay, now reply with some big long rant about how that could have broken my speakers or caused an accident" Sora explained to Kari, who began typing exactaly that. It was probably a good foru hundred words when Kari read it back to Sora who smiled in approuval and hit the send button. She pushed down on the gas pedal and shifted into fifth gear as the message made it's way to Tai's phone.

Tai carefully read the message that appeared on his phone, lifting his foot off the gas pedal slighty so he could keep control of his car while maintianing his lead on Sora. The message dronned on about how easily something horrible could have happened and how iresponsible it was of him, halfway through he lifted his head to glance at the road. Only instead of seeing the open emtpy road, he saw the tail lights of Sora's car as she sped ahead of him. He dropped his phone onto his lap and reached down to his gear shifter, ready to shift into fifth gear. He pushed upwards to shift, only it didnt move, again and again he tried and the gear stick would not move into fifth gear. He was about to give it a smack when his phone rang "What did you do?" He asked, knowing it was Sora

"You really think i wasnt expecting something?" Sora said from the other end of the phone

"Sora, c'mon thats not fair" He pleaded

"Have fun in fourth gear. I'l save you a parking space" The smirk on her face was obvious from her taunting tone as she hung up the phone.

A/N: So i know its not the most exciting chapter, but they have to get to Jouchiro (chp.3) before the fun starts ;) Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Sora's feet sunk into the soft sand as she walked through the vast dessert that lay before her, darkened by the deep night sky above her. The only light being given off was that of the pale moon that hung in the blackness, softly ilumintaing the thousands of tiny grains of sand. One step after another, she continued to walk, continued to look for him. Her mind was telling her that it was no use, she'd been here before, she'd done this before and she knew she would not find him. She knew that he was not here, when this happened before, he was in the real world. She wanted to keel over from exaugtion and give up, but a voice was tearing away in the back of her mind, _he's here._ Her legs grew heavier with each step as they begged her to stop, but she pushed the thoughts away with another, _he's here._ She'd been searching for him for waht seemed like hours with no luck, the hills turnred into valleys and the valleys into rolling hills then into the dessert strech that she found herself in now. The voices plaeding to stop became more and more tempting as she kept her pace through the sand. Then something caught her eye, a figure about twenty feet away, about six feet tall stood perfectly still, staring up at the moon. Her pace quickned as a flicker of regignition rustled her mind, the pale light blanketing the sand gave her thoughts a grain of hope. The figure came into focus as she drew closser, his large mess of hair queitly swaying in the soft wind that grazed the desert sand. She sped into a jog as her hope grew inside of her, _it has to be him_, she thought, she broke into a run "Tai!" She shouted as she approached him, he gave no response, the moon the only thing that seemed to register in his world. Her mouth was just opening, the words only beginging to form on her lips when he took of running. Sand kicked back off his shoes as he bolted towards the strip of trees to his left, without a thought Sora took off after him. He had a lead on her but only slightly "Tai!" She shouted as she chassed after him, her legs rejuvinated by the adrenaline "It's me! Tai stop!" He gave no response, nothing showed that the wrods where even reaching his mind. The small scattered trees turned to clusters of leafy trees, then the spaces between them filled with towering, thick, leaf covered trees that blocked out the moon's already fragil light. Branches tore at her face, leaving a sting as they traced across her cheek as Sora raced through the woods. He wasn't that far ahead of her, she chassed his back through the forest, her legs screamed out to stop with each step, vines tried to entagle her feet as they slammed agaisnt the moss covered ground. No matter how hard she ran she could not ctach him, he ran in front of her by about twelve feet, not surrendering an inch as he fled. The air burned the aubrun haired girl's now raw throat as her breaths turned to huffs, sticks whipped past her, twigs snapped under her feet as she despratly tried to ctach him "Tai! Stop!" She shouted forwards, the cold night air ripping at her throat "Please!" She despratly screamed. The boy would not slow his pace as he continued to tear through the woods. Sora's already exausted legs burned with each motion, her lungs burned through her chest and her heart was thudding against her skull. It was hopeless. Her heart sank as she continued to perssue him, she had no idea why he was running from her. A shard of pain stabbed her chest. Her eyes began to tear up. _No._ She told herself as she swolled hard and leaped over a dead log that blocked her path. Her hand slid across the moss covered log as she flew over it, her feet slid against the forest floor. Tai was'nt missing a beat, leaping over fallen stumps, ducking under low hanging branchs. The ground was becoming over run with roots that sharply stuck out from the loose dirt and vines that creeped along her feet. The moonlight struggled to break throught the thick canopy of leaves that hung eerily down from the towering dark trees around her. Sora glanced down to her feet and scanned the path ahead then back up to the boy who looked like he was running for his life in the darkness ahead of her. The feeling of the root hooking over her shoe registered too late, her left leg was still thrashing forward when her right leg refused to follow. The force of her moentum shoved her forwards as she slammed to the ground, skidding thorugh the dirt and roots. A sharp pain tore across her face as she came to a stop. She could instantly tell her leg was badly hurt. Sora looked around her, trying to spot Tai in the darkness that surrounded her, her hard breaths the only thing she could hear in the abscense of snapping braches. All the girl saw was his figure plunge deeper into the night ahead of her, braches swayed in his wake as he dissapeared, she could not follow him "Please!" She cried for him, the words ripped her throat as she pulled them into the air "Tai!" Tears cleaned the dirt from her face as they left a streak down her face as she sat on the cold, silent forest floor.

"Sora?" Snapped her off the cold, dark forest floor and back onto the beach where she had fallen asleep "Come on sleepy head, we found him" Tai grinned at her from above, kneeling down beside her. Sora rubbed her eyes in an attempt to wipe away the groggy daze that still coated her thoughts. Tai must have taken note of the look on her face, one of horror, shock and sadness, he knew this look "Sora?" He asked cautiously, the sadness in her eyes was obvious "Did yo-" his sentense was cut short when she reached up and warped her arms around him.

"Tai" She said softly as she reached for him. Tai returned her desprate embrace as she tried to regain her breath. The confort of his body agaisnt her and the comforting words he whispered in her ears slowly calmmed and anxious and scared Sora. Tai knew exactly what she was going through and he was the only one who did. Niether of them told anyone else about the horrible nightmares that plagues thier thoughts. They were terrifying, it was one of the few bad things that have stuck with them from the digital world. Theyre would be nights when Sora wouldnt dare close her eyes to sleep for fear of the horros her mind would unleash on her. Nights when Tai, the bearer of the crest of courage, would wake up shouting and panting. Tai's never told Sora what causes him to wake up terified, but she knew it was starting to take its toll on him. The grip on her shirt relaxed as the moments passed, her mind calmed and she regained her grip on reality. Tai slowly helped her up to her feet

"We found Joe" He smiled to her "Izzy's gone to get the address" He said as if nothing had happened

"Oh, alright" Sora smiled back to him "Let me just clean myself up a bit" She said then started to wipe the sand that clung to her body misted with sweat off as she walked towards her car. Tai bit his lip as he made his way back to a waiting Matt, who no doubt took notice of what just happened. It tore his heart out to see her like that, he did what ever he could do for her when she would have one when he was around, but he knew that they where much more frequent and horrifying for her then she let off. They started, well she told him they started about a year ago and Sora was too proud to tell him what exactly they were about. He so desprately wanted to help her, but he knew there was little more he could do besides what he had already done. Still, little more was better than no more for him. He glanced back to her, her shaking hand doing damage control on her battle worn hair. He was just starting to turn his body to run to her when a sudden wall apeared in front of him, wait no it was just Mimi

"Is she okay?" She asked, concerned, unaware she had just stolen Tai's thunder

Tai let out a heavy breath, he hadnt noticed, but he had been holding it for who knows how long "Yea, she'l be fine" He said as he tried to conjure up a smile, he knew it must look fake but it was better than letting his actual emotions mold his face.

"Whats the matter with her?" She was oblivous to the actual problem since Tai and Sora agreed not to tell anyone "Bad dream or something?"

Tai was a bit suprised that her guess had been right "Yeah, something like that" A crease formed between his eyebrows, his face grew worried. He knew that Sora could handle and has been, for the most part, handling the dreams on her own but still he worried. The whole situtaion made him feel so helpless, as if he was watching her through a payne of glass. He could worry and watch all he wanted, pound on the glass and shout encouragement but he was unable to have a noticiable effect on the situation. Tai wanted to steer the conversation else where, not wanting his urning to help Sora become obvious to the whole world. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as Mimi perked up and smiled as Izzy happily strolled up to them.

"Did you get the address?" Mimi asked through a smile

"Mimi" Izzy replied matter of factly "I can recalibrate the system of the entier motherboard of one of the most sophiticated computer systems in the country in under five minutes" He boasted "So of coarse I was cappable of getting a simple address" Izzy held up a small scrap of paper, Tai bit his lip, just waiting for Mimi to make some sort of remark at his comments or give him a smack. Her response suprised him

"Of coarse you are" She said playfully, the smile took on a more seductive edge as she spoke. Tai made a mental note to ask Sora if she knew anything about what was going on between the two. Izzy dropped his head, clearly he was just tickled pink by her smile. In a moment of pure giddy school boyishness Izzy let the words pass his lips

"Aww shucks" His face grew red as he heard himself speak, he didnt realize he had said the words aloud. He gave himself a mental smack for being so foolish and cleared his throat "So ummm let me go program this into your GSP, Tai"

Tai couldnt help the grin on his face "Aw shucks, Izzy. You'd do that for me?" He couldnt help himslef, a short sput of laughter slipped out before he could contain himself. He was never going to let him live that one down.

"Kiddo now!" Joe cringed as the commanding voice tore through the air of the clinic. Joe quickly dropped the book he'd just begun to divulge, jumpped from his unconfortable wooden chair and ran out into the crowded hall. He weaved through the crowds of people, all waiting to recieve thier yearly flu shot, and reluctantly pushed open the heavy wooden door. He poked his head inside and immidiatly regredeaded it

_I could have hid. I could run now, i dont think he's spotted me yet._ Joe thought as he spotted exactaly what he had hopped he wouldnt. He had walked into, as the resisdents of the clinic call it, the bug room. There werent really any bug inside, this was the room where they were admistering the flu shots. They deemed it the bug room because half of the people who walk through the doors have already contracted the flu and are hopping that the vacine will cure the bug. Joe didnt hate much about his internship, except for this. The endless ocean of sweaty, sick people who washed through the door almost repulsed him. It wasnt the sick people who were doing the repulsing, it was the fact that he was stuck in the tiny closet of a room, trapped with the heavy, stale air and the overall feeling of well sickness. Joe was seriously considering bolting back into the staff room and locking himself in the small bathroom, but he was too late.

"Ah, Kiddo" Joe's father smiled to him as he stood up "It's my lunch break, so i need you too take over the bug room" As he spoke, the patient who was rolling her sleeve back down gave a wierd expression at the mention of the bug room. It probably wasnt a very pleseant thing to hear; someone calling the room where you had just gotten a vacine the bug room. "Leave the band-aid on until the bleeding stops" He said plesenatly to the paitient, Joe stepped aside he held the door open for her. Joe swallowed hard, he only had two weeks left, no point in getting this far only to lip off to the resident doctor, who just so happened to be his father.

"Sure thing, dad" He conjured up a smile "I mean, Dr. Kiddo" He corrected himself and his father left the room. He gave off a heavy sigh as he plopped himself down on the warmed wooden chair in front of the large table covered in everything he could possibly ever need to admister the vacine, and then some. Person after person, syringe after syringe, he repeated the routine. A friendly smile, explain the procedure, sterliaze, fill the syringe, inject, band-aid and one last friendly smile. The time slowly dragged on as the air in the room grew thick and hot, he hopefully glanced over to the window, it was already open. Defeated, he pressed his lips together and strongly exhaled, creating a sound that resembled a motor as he slumpped down into the chair, ready to repeat he routine. Joe was preparing the syringe when he heard the door open "Take a seat" The practiced smiled appeared on his face

"No way I trust you with that thing" A fermilair male voice filled the stuffy room

Joe looked up and his rehearsed smile was replaced by a real one "T.K, Kari" He said suprised as he stood up from the chair

"Hey Joe" Kari smiled brightly, sure that the suprise ambush had worked

"Hey guys, its good to see you" He smiled back before he said what he was really thinking "Don't take this the wrong way guys, but what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" T.K asked as if the ansewr hung in front of his face "Were here to rescue you. Come on, everones outside waiting" The blond haired boy grinned proudly

Joe thought for a moment, they came to rescue him from an internship for which he worked for months to receive. Thats didnt make much sense, he'd never been teribbly close to any of them in the first place, with him being two years older than them. He had graduated before them hadnt had the chance to form as solid of bonds with the others as the rest of them had. Dont get him wrong, he cared for them and they were still some of best friends, he jusy never clicked with one of them they way they did, like Sora had with Mimi and Tai. Joe pushed up his glasses, he didnt want to seem ungratfull "Well guys, i dont real-" He was cut off by a high pitched, rapid beeing eminating from the pager on his belt, before he could reach down and silence it, a voice called for him from the hall

"Joe! Room four!" Joe cringed at the shouting voice "Now!"

"Coming!" He yelled back, not even bothering to turn his head towards the open door, Kari got the sense that this happened alot. He silenced the beeping from his pager as he spoke "Tell you what. I can't leave right now and im schedualed for a double shift today, but i would be more than happy to show you guys around tomorrow?"

"Alright, see you then" Kari smiled

"Good, see you then!" The older boy yelled back to her as he took off runing down the hallway and into an equaly as dingy looking room.

"Now what should we do?" Kari asked and turned to face T.K, who looked just as suprised and dissapointed about Joe's early departure as she did.

"I dont care what we do as long as we leave this room" T.K replied, shuttering as he glanced over towards the abandonded syringe pilled table

"Oh dont be such a baby" The girl teased "They dont bite or anything"

"Yea and niether does your cat, but that didnt stop him"

Sora let out a long, exauhsted sigh coaxed from the relentless boardome of unpacking escape her lips. She had only been unpacking for around ten mintues or so but the heavy, groggy feeling of bordome had alrready over taken her. She pulled herself off from her bed and took a look around the small room. There was a bathroom right off the entrance, two twin beds linned the far wall, seperated by a small nightstand, and a large dresser topped with a television set sat awkwardly placed on top of it near the foot of the beds. The light that she was sure was pouring in through the large windows to her right only a few hours ago, now gave off only the dusky glow of the fadding sun. She was sharing a room with Mimi, while Tai and Matt did the same, Izzy insisted on having his own room and after some clever sentences and lots of convinving, T.K and Kari were sharing a room. Then, like a ton of bricks she noticed that Mimi had never returned from getting the last of her things from the car. Thankfull that she now had something to do besides go and bug Tai, Sora happily walked out of the room and into the hall. It wasnt a far walk to her car, the hotel wasnt big and couldnt have more than fifteen rooms. She spotted her car through the large glass doors in the lobby and was struck by a wave of confusion when she spotted Mimi digging around the trunk of car. Sora was only starting to push on the doors when she stopped dead in her tracks. Mimi triumphantly turned around with a grin on her face and flaunted a peice of papper to a smiling Izzy. Sora's jaw dropped from her head and to the floor as she watched the scene in front of her unfold. Mimi placed the peiece of papper in his waiting hand and the red haired boy rewarded her with a long, lingering kiss. Sora turned on her heel and tried to conceal the growing grin on her face as she tried to peel her eyes away from embrassing couple.


End file.
